It has been an interesting week in rumors.
First the managers!
Hoffenheim will say goodbye to Ralf Rangnick because he wants to spend money this summer. They will then say hello to Jurgen Klinsmann, who is the epitome of frugality. After all, he only forced Bayern to rebuild it’s training facility.
Meanwhile the possessors of Klinsmann’s Buddha statues look certain to fill his vacancy with AZ’s Louis Van Gaal who must be dreaming of the Europa league.
And as the man Bayern fired for being too successful looks certain to join Schalke after working wonders at Wolfsburg, the Wolves are sniffing around Frank Rijkaard. It is a testament to how good Magath is that we can hear a rumor like than and not laugh.
As for the players.
Bayern Munich.
So in the same week we heard that Bayern couldn’t afford to meet the €10 million evaluation by Fiorentina for Sebastian Frey, we heard that they are going to spend €26 million on Werder’s Diego to replace Frey’s buddy Franck Ribery. But not to worry for the cash-strapped Bavarians. Manchester United want to spend €62.5 million on their French wizard, which should allow them to buy a replacement and hopefully stay solvent.
It will even allow them to spend €5 million on Tom Huddlestone of Tottenham Hotspur. However, that ridiculous rumor is predicated on Martin Jol being the next manager. What nobody has asked, is why hasn’t Jol made a play for his former starlet at Hamburg yet.
Borussia Monchengladbach
Marko Marin, who should be higher on most radars than Edin Dzeko, as he will leave if Gladbach are relegated, has only been linked with Hamburg so far. And that’s under the assumption that they are going to lose Piotr Trochowski to Everton or Arsenal. At €9 million, I can’t believe this kid hasn’t been linked with just about every club in Europe. I would love to see him at Spurs.
Werder Bremen
Diego! Please pick a team already. You and Ribery are boring me to tears.
Wolfsburg
Edin Dzeko has fooled everyone in England into thinking he’s the next big thing. While he has a lot of potential, he has Misomivic and Grafite to make him look good presently. So someone in England is going to overspend on him, only to find that he’s actually still a work-in-progress. Don’t get me wrong, he has the potential to be a great player, but he’s not there yet and English teams aren’t patient enough typically to see him through to his full development.
Bayer Leverkusen
The Werkself picked up Sami Hyypia on a free. Fantastic signing, but does that mean the end of Henrique?
Hertha Berlin
Auxerre forward Benoit Pedretti is being heavily linked with the capital club, who will be desperate for a forward if Pantelic leaves and Voronin returns to Liverpool.
Stuttgart
The return of the prodigal son seems imminent as Alexandre Hleb looks set to leave Barcelona’s bench. I’m not sure he’ll be much more than a sub at Stuttgart though.
Hannover 96
Wolfsburg Alexander Madlung, who is available on a free, is close to joining the reds, if HSV doesn’t make a last minute offer.
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…and talking about Stuttgart, don’t forget to mention Mario Gomez whose future is undecided yet. Although I believe that he leaves Stuttgart at the end of the season, no matter where they’ll end in the standings, I can’t imagine him play for another Bundesliga club. His future will probably be somewhere else in Europe. Maybe Arsenal?
question: what about michael bradley? he should be pursued by bigger clubs. he has been the best young center mid in the bundesliga, and clubs like Schalke and Wolfsburg should seriously consider. Even bayern, who will need to replace Ze should look
Bradley has had half a season at relegation contender. While I believe he have a move ahead of him in the future, he still has a lot to prove.